Osas Okonyon Leads EVI, a Female-Led Afrobeats Musical Hitting Cinemas in March

There’s something quietly powerful about a story that chooses music as its language and a woman as its compass. EVI, a female-led Afrobeats musical, has officially announced its cast, with Osas Okonyon stepping into the lead role. 

The film, which blends original music with emotional storytelling, is already stirring anticipation online, and for good reason. This isn’t just another musical. It’s a reclamation story, wrapped in sound, struggle, and selfhood.

Set for a nationwide cinema release on March 27, 2026, EVI is set to draw an audience that appreciates the blend of storytelling and music.

EVI is an Afrobeats feature film driven by original songs, but at its core, it’s a character study. The story follows Evi, a musician forced to confront the collapse of her career after being dropped by her record label. What follows isn’t a glossy comeback montage. It’s a fight, internal, creative, to reclaim identity in an industry that often reduces artists to numbers and trends.

The music isn’t decorative here. It’s narrative. Each song exists to say what dialogue can’t. Loss. Anger. Memory. Survival.

Written and directed by Uyoyou Adia, the film leans into musical drama without losing emotional realism. Adia’s approach keeps the story intimate.

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Osas is a Nigerian filmmaker, writer, and actor. Okonyon’s work often explores the quiet, uncomfortable spaces where grief, identity, and justice overlap. Her short film The Lump in Your Throat is a strong reference point: psychologically layered, emotionally raw, and deeply personal. As both the writer and lead actor on that project, she showed a willingness to sit with vulnerability rather than rushing toward resolution.

That sensibility makes her a natural anchor for EVI. This is a character who breaks, questions herself, and still chooses to rebuild. Okonyon’s filmography suggests she understands that kind of interior weight and knows how to hold it on screen without overexplaining it.

The cast announcement confirms a lineup that balances range and restraint. Uzor Arukwe, Omowunmi Dada, Ibrahim Suleiman, Michael Ejoor, Tomiwa Tegbe, and Waje Iruobe.

Each actor, we’re sure, would bring a distinct emotional register, which matters in a musical drama where performance extends beyond dialogue. This isn’t about star power alone. It’s about texture, how different energies collide around Evi’s journey.

Waje Iruobe’s inclusion, in particular, subtly reinforces the film’s musical credibility, blurring the line between performer and character in a way that feels right for the story.

EVI is scheduled to hit cinemas nationwide on March 27, 2026. While that may feel far off, the early cast announcement suggests confidence in the project’s direction and readiness.

As an Afrobeats musical with original songs, expectations will naturally be high. But EVI isn’t promising spectacle for spectacle’s sake. It’s a promising feeling. Messy growth. Music that remembers its origins.

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Following the cast announcement, reactions on X were immediate and warm. Many users congratulated Osas Okonyon, while others expressed genuine anticipation for the film itself.

EVI is a female-led Afrobeats story about loss, creativity, and the courage it takes to define yourself again when the world stops clapping. With Osas Okonyon at the centre, supported by a thoughtful ensemble and guided by Uyoyou Adia’s vision, the film feels grounded long before its release.

March 27, 2026, is still a while away, but EVI has already started its conversation. And people are listening.